Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 18) – Gilas Pilipinas may have avoided any group death scare after being placed in Group D bracket for the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
The draw took place at the tournament’s host city of Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday.
The world no. 33 Gilas was selected in Group D together with world no. 27 New Zealand, world no. 55 Lebanon, and world no. 80 India.
Coincidentally, Gilas is also grouped with New Zealand and India in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers. The team will face the Indians on Feb. 25 and the Kiwis on Feb. 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, the countries in Group A of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup features powerhouse Australia, along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and host Indonesia.
Perhaps the closest to being dubbed as Group of Death, Group B is composed of Chinese Taipei, China, South Korea, and Bahrain.
Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Syria are the Group C protagonists in the continental basketball tournament.
The team which will top the four brackets will secure an outright entry to the quarterfinals, while the runners-up per group will play third placed teams in playoff games.
The 30th edition of the Asian basketball championship is set from July 12-24.
